Packing pad



Nov. 20, 1934. R. w. BURRows PACKING PAD Filed sept. 28, 1931 INVENTOR.

ROBERT/4f wexows W ATTORNEY Patentedl Nov. 20, 1934 UNITED STATESPACKING PAD Robert W. Burrows, Petaluma,

Calif.; Mabel Burrows, executrix of said Robert W. Burrows, deceased,assignor to William K. Jaquith,

Petaluma, Calif.

Application September 28, 1931, Serial No. 565,473

8 Claims.

This invention relates generally to a packing pad. or buffer which isadaptable to use in cushioning the inner faces of a box container forpacking fruit and the like, and is related to 6 my co-pendingapplication Serial No. 475,020,

filed August 13, 1930, for Packing pads.

Broadly speaking, the invention consists of a plurality of overlyingilaccid sheets having upformed portions and a reinforcing back sheetmember which may extend arcuately beyond the edges cf the flaccidsheets. The reinforcing back sheet portion is intended to abut the innerface of a box or crate Wall, while the opposite side of the pad whichmay be called its face abuts the fruit or box contents and is formed ofthe flaccid sheets which are soft and pliable. l

In order that the advantages of this invention may be readilydistinguished from the known art, it is to be understood that inreferring to accid sheets as distinguished from corrugated board, whatis meant is material Which when cut in small elongated pieces Will sagof its own weight, as more fully set forth in my said copendingapplication.

These 11p-formed portions will increase the cross sectional thickness ofthe paper depending on the ccarseness of the portion which is upformed,and I prefer to use up-formed portions of such coarseness so that theextreme transverse planes of the sheets so formed increase the normalthickness of the paper about fourfold. The 11p-formed portions in thepaper are irregularly spaced and preferably irregular in size so thatwhen the layers of the flaccid sheet are in overlying or superposedrelationship, the up-formed portions or indentations, as the case maybe, do not nest and in that manner they form a pad about four times thenormal thickness of the paper, the up-formed portions spacing the normalplane of the adjacent sheets and thereby forming a cushion body which issoft and flexible.

In the fruit business, it is customary to pack the fruit in boxes ofWell known type, made of side pieces of relatively thin material, suchaswood panels or slats fastened to shook ends, and a top panel or slats,the boxes being' usually referred to as crates or lugs.

In commercial practice it is also customary to ll said crates or lu'gsuntil the fruit extends beyond the upper edge of the filling opening ofthe box for the double purpose of absorbing any settling of the fruit intransportation, .and so that the container presents the appearance tothe customer of being full weight and liberal in quantity. When the toppanel or slats are fastened on the crate prior to nailing at the ends,the panels or slats arch at the center, and since these top pieces areusually flat pieces of thin wood board, there is a downward pressureupon the fruit, both at vthe time of fastening the top and alsothereafter. This pressure upon the fruit causes the upper layer of fruitalong the sides of the box to be bruised or cut by the upper edge of thebox side.

As set forth in my co-pending application above referred to, it isdesirable that a pad for packing fruit and like delicate products shouldbe soft and flexible, and sufliciently economical to manufacture so asnot to lay an undue financial burden upon the packed product, the saidco-pending application making provision for a packing pad comprised of aplurality of overlying sheets of flaccid material having up-formedportions and provided with a facing sheet of Water-proof material, saidsheets being secured in overlying relationship.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a packing pad havinga soft flexible portion to serve as a crate liner and amore rigidportion at the back to serve as a reinforcement of the exible portionfor convenience in handling; other objects are to provide a flexiblepacking pad which is economical to manufacture and the handling of whichis facilitated by a reinforcing sheet of material at the back more rigidthan the composition of the pad. Another` object is to provide a packingpad having a portion With an arcuate edge adapted for extending abovethe side edges of a packing crate. A further object is to provide apacking pad of overlying sheets of flaccid material with portionsupformed from the normal transverse plane of the sheets, so as to avoidnesting of the 11p-formed portions, and to provide in connectiontherewith a reinforcing means which also serves to guide .over-filledquantities of fruit past'the sharp upper edge of a crate side wall.

With the above mentioned and other objects in view, the inventionconsists in the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafterdescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and pointed out inthe claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changesinthe form, proportion, size and minor details of construction Withinthe scope of the claims may be resorted to without departing from thespirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

To more clearly comprehend the invention, reference is directed to theaccompanying drawing, wherein:-

Fig. 1 is an elevation of one face of pad, being'the back face whichabuts the crate walls.

Fig. 2 isv side edge View of a fragment oi one sheet of pad formingmaterial, enlarged in thickness. l

Fig. 3 is a perspective of packing crate, show ing manner of placementof pad.

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section of `pad with facing sheet andwith back( reinforcing sheet having top extension., .j

5 is a vertical transversesection of pad showing an extension member. attop.

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section of pad having reinforcingbacking sheet.

Referring to the drawing in which like charac ters of referencedesignate similar parts in the several figures, 10 represents a padgenerally, which is composed of a plurality of overlying layers of sheetmaterial 11, which has upformed portions 12 from Vthe normal plane 13 oftheY sheet. For this purpose I prefer to use paper, which is well knowncommercially as crepe paper, which is manufactured with crinkles formedand haphazardly positioned therein, so that the surface thereof isprovided with a large number of irregularly placed and irreguiarly sizedprojections or ridges 12 and indentations or valleys 14, theirregularity in size rugated board, which is relatively stiff and hard.

These overlying sheets 11 may be secured in pad forming relation by anysuitable means, suchy as gluing at their edges, but my preferred meansof relatively positioning said sheets is to provide a facing sheet l5preferably of waterproof material, such as may be produced by aparaflined coating on paper, and passing said facingv sheet around thetwo lengthwise edges of the accid sheets and gluing same on the reverseside of the pad leaving the ends of the pad with free edges, asindicated at 16, thus elimi-.

nating any glue from possibility ofy contact lwith thev fruit. This ismost clearly shown inFxg. 1,

and enables the making of the pads in long n strips to be cut in desiredlengths.

It, will be realized that the pad thus far described is of a veryflexible nature,` and as a practical matter it is necessary to handlethesel pads rapidly, and also to` place them in boxes l before the fruitis packed therein, and, therefore, it is desirable to have a reinforcingbacking sheet member so that the pad wlll not sag 1n the box while thefruit isbeing packed, and

, also to provide a reinforcing means to prevent injury of the pads.Forthis purpose, a backing sheet. 17 of material, more rigidthanthe'flaccid sheets, may be placed along the rear side of theover-lying flexible sheets, in which event the portionof the.` facingsheet overlapping the rear side of the pad may also. include Withinits.

testati fold the edges of the reinforcing backing sheet, as best shownin Fig. 6. 1

It is preferred, however, that the reinforcing sheet 17 extend beyondoneedge of the flexible pad providing a portion 13 which has its free edgeformed arcuately, as at 19 in Fig. l, and as. shown in section in Figs.4 and, 5. rIhis arcuate portion providesA a liller for the gap whichexists between the upper edge 20 of the box side and the crown of thearc 2l formed by the lid panel or slats 22.

Normally, the flexible portion of the pad will extend a shortdistanceabove the upper edge 2Ov of the side of the box, as indicated at23, so that when the extended portion 18 of the either from vibration intransportation or by `the pressure of the top 22, the fruit will bearagainst a cushion pad at the upper edge of the box side instead of uponthe sharp edge of the box, or upon a hard surface which would be presentwere it. not for the flexible cushion pad interposed between the fruitand thev back reinforcing sheet 17.

In Fig. l isshown a modified form of pad providing for a combinationside Wall pad and end pad and in which a great saving in material and:ycost is made by reinforcing the back of the ii'exible pad with thereinforcingv backing sheet adjacent the longitudinal pad ledges only,the portion A being intended for the side of the box and the portion Bbeing intended for the end of the box. In this modified form, theupperreinforcing member 24 is not provided withan extending portion, such as18, for the reason that the top of the box ts closely upon the. endshooks, and the portions A and B when within the box, being at an angleof substantially are substantially self supported. In this Inodined formof Fig. 1, it is optional to also provide a strip `25 parallel with andadjacent to the bottom'edge of the pad. Manifestly, the pad shown inFig. l could be severed on rthe line markedi c-c and the severedsections used separately. However, for purposesr of economy of labor andexpense in packing: fruit, it is pre ferred that the pad shown in Fig; 1shouldbe oflsucient longitudinal length to reach along aside and acrossan end' of a fruit crate.

Havingthus described the invention what is claimed as" new and desiredto be protected by Letters Patent isz- 1. A1 packing pad comprising aplurality of4 flaccidL sheets in overlying relationship and havingportionsv 11p-formed from their normal planes providing ridgesandvalleys, and a backing sheet, of material more rigid than thevflaccid sheets,l

said sheets beingrelatively held at two edges. l

2. A packingpad' comprising a plurality of overlying flaccidv sheets`havingup-formed portions providing ridges and valleys, and a facing.

sheet having at least one dimension greater` than the other sheets, anda backing sheet of material more rigid than ,the flaccid sheets, saidying-portions--of their respective bodies up-formed from: the. normaltransverse.planeof.vv the sheets providing ridges and valleys, theadjacent sheets having ridges and valleys out of register so as to avoidnesting of the ridges and valleys of adjacent sheets, and a strip ofmaterial more rigid than the flaccid sheets positioned adjacent an edgeof the flaccid sheets so as to leave an area of the flaccid sheets freeof the rigid material, said rigid material having a portion extendingbeyond the edge of the flaccid sheets, said extended portion having anarcuately formed edge portion, said sheets being secured together.

4. A device of the character described comprising a plurality ofoverlying flaccid sheets in pad forming relation, said flaccid sheetshaving portions of their respective bodies up-iormed from the normaltransverse plane of the sheets providing ridges and valleys, theadjacent sheets having ridges and valleys out of register so as to avoidnesting of the ridges and valleys of adjacent sheets, and a sheet ofmaterial more rigid than the flaccid sheets positioned parallel of theflaccid sheets and having an arcuately formed edge portion Which extendsbeyond a portion of the edge of the flaccid sheets and said flaccidsheets having an edge portion Which extends beyond an edge portion ofsaid rigid sheet.

5. A device of the character described, comprising a plurality ofoverlying flaccid sheets in pad forming relation, said accid sheetshaving portions of their respective bodies up-formed from the normaltransverse plane of the sheet providing ridges and valleys, the adjacentsheets having ridges and valleys out of register so as to avoid nestingon the ridges and valleys ci' adjacent sheets, and a strip of materialof lesser transverse Width and more rigid than the flaccid sheets,secured to said overlying i'laccid sheets adjacent an edge thereof, andhaving a portion extending therebeyond, said extended portion having anarcuately formed edge portion, said flaccid sheets and said strip beingsecured in juxta-position.

6. A device of the character described ,com-

prising a plurality of overlying accid sheets in pad forming relation,said accid sheets having portions of their respective bodies 11p-formedfrom the normal transverse plane of the sheet providing ridges andvalleys, the adjacent sheets having ridges and valleys out of registerso as to avoid nesting oi ridges and valleys of adjacent sheets, and astrip of material of lesser transverse Width and more rigid than theaccid sheets secured to said overlying flaccid sheets adjacent the edgethereof and having a portion extending beyond the edge of the flaccidsheets, and a portion lying substantially parallel to the edge portionof the flaccid sheets, said extended portion being provided with anarcuate free edge.

7. A device of the character described, cornprising a plurality ofoverlying flaccid sheets in pad forming relation, said flaccid sheetshaving portions of their respective bodies upformed from the normaltransverse plane of the sheet providing ridges and valleys, the adjacentsheets having ridges and valleys out of register so as to avoid nestingof ridges and valleys of adjacent sheets and a strip o material oflesser transverse Width and more rigid than the flaccid sheets securedto said overlying accid sheets adjacent the edge thereof and having aportion extending beyond the edge of the iiaccid sheets, and a portionlying substantially parallel to the edge portion of the flaccid sheets,said extended portion being provided With an arcuate free edge, theextended portion being positioned so that an edge ci the accid sheetsforms a chord no

